Question: South Asian Regional Conference on Urban Infrastructure organised by NITI Aayog was hosted by which of the following city?(a) New Delhi(b) Bengaluru(c) Lucknow(d) VadodaraAnswer: (a)Related facts:

NITI Aayog partnered with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) organized a South Asian regional conference at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra in New Delhi on 15-16 November 2018.

The two day conference was inaugurated by CEO, NITI Aayog, Amitabh Kant and Subhash Chandra Garg, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance.

This was a first of its kind conference which aimed to review “Urban Infrastructure: New Approaches to Public & Private Partnerships and Municipal Finance Innovations” in South Asia, specifically India, while broadening the knowledge base and engaging on international best practices.

Need for equitable urbanization:

To scale down the disproportionate deprivation of access to basic services and infrastructure there is urgent need to focus on newer means of implementing and financing urban infrastructure in order to attain the growth in equitable and in an environmentally responsible way. The future areas of growth & development are infrastructure & digitalized delivery of goods & services. In India alone, estimated investments of around $4.5 trillion are required in the infrastructure space till 2040.

With respect to urban needs, the population in South Asia is expected to grow by around 250 million till 2030, while that in India is expected to reach around 590 million during the same period.

NITI Aayog:

The National Institution for Transforming India, also called NITI Aayog, was formed on January 1, 2015. NITI Aayog is the premier policy ‘Think Tank’ of the Government of India, providing both directional and policy inputs.

While designing strategic and long term policies and programmes for the Government of India, NITI Aayog also provides relevant technical advice to the Centre and States.